Village schools are dying because young families can no longer afford to live in the countryside, accordion to official figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Acts. And the situation could get worse.

A village school closes every month, according to figures issued yesterday by the Housing Federation – and further 200 could go in the next five years unless urgent action is taken now, says the report.

The federation – which is pressing for the building of more affordable homes in rural areas – has joined with the National Association for Small Schools and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers to press for more government action.

They say that there are now some 750,000 people on the waiting list for affordable homes and they tend to be the sort of young people wanting to raise families.

In the past two decades, property prices in areas like the Yorkshire Dales have soared beyond the reach of ordinary working people, driven up by wealthy retirees – whose children have grown up – or weekend cottagers, whose children go to schools near their main residence.

Says Ruth Davison of the Housing Federation:”The foundations of traditional village life are rapidly disappearing as a lack of affordable housing turns many rural areas into family-free zones.”